From Beth Stetenfeld:

If you ask friends, neighbors, and colleagues to size up their lives, few say every aspect of life has been perfect—that they’ve had it all.

Some say they have no regrets. But the truth is, we all make choices and sacrifices. At some point, we have to set aside one personal goal or desire for another.

Whether it’s trading time with family for military service or setting aside a long-time cherished hobby for a more lucrative career, we all must choose paths along the way. Often this means subjugating selfish goals for the common good.

Many of the credit union movement’s leaders have made great personal sacrifices for the benefit of their members and communities. And four times each year, Credit Union Magazine highlights and thanks these CU Heroes.

Often these folks say they’ve received as much as they’ve given. While that might be true, they’ve all made credit unions and their members a top priority.

This year, we celebrate the contributions of four more CU Heroes:

• Rudy Hanley, president/CEO, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, Santa Ana, Calif. His political involvement, work ethic, and integrity have benefited his own credit union and the credit union movement, overall.
• Ron Kase, CEO, Landmark Credit Union, New Berlin, Wis. One of his proudest accomplishments: leading his credit union through remarkable growth, including the creation of 450 jobs in southeastern Wisconsin.
• Frank Matous Sr. (posthumous), former CEO of Tandem Federal Credit Union, Warren, Mich. A credit union pioneer, he encouraged the next generation—including his four sons—to stay active in the credit union movement.
• Joe Robertson, retired president/CEO, Our Community Credit Union, Shelton, Wash. His credit union garnered a record $18 million increase in deposits during 2009 (doubling the previous year’s increase) during the slow recovery from the recession.

And now it’s time to select the CU Hero of the Year. Please visit creditunionmagazine.com to cast your vote.

Voting will take place through April 30. This year’s winner will be honored at CUNA’s America’s Credit Union Conference in San Diego, June 17-20.

So cast your vote and visit cuna.org to learn more about the conference.

My phone reminded me this morning that GAC starts tomorrow…and I am reminded that I promised my friends at CUNAverse not just one but two blogs before GAC.  I beg forgiveness… we’ve been a little busy here in Washington.

If you’re coming to town this weekend for the GAC, I want you to know that we’re counting on you to help us bring the member business lending bill across the finish line.  I promise you it won’t be easy – in fact, you’ll probably leave DC quite frustrated – but I know we can move the ball if we put it in your hands.

The Senate is presently considering a bill that is generously being referred to as a jobs bill. In reality what this legislation does is relax a set of investor protections in the hopes that businesses will use the savings they receive from reduced regulatory compliance to hire new workers.  No one has estimated how many jobs this might create.  Yet, the bill passed the House of Representatives with almost 400 votes, and the Senate is poised to act perhaps as soon as next week.

What better time to have 4,000 credit union advocates in Washington, DC?

It is not going to be easy getting the MBL bill included in this “jobs” package.  Even though we have made an indisputable case for raising the MBL cap, we have a number of things working against us.

First, there is a strong desire among Senate Republicans to simply take up the House-passed and pass it as is.  (It did pass with almost 400 votes, afterall).  This means the Democratic leadership will be under pressure to simply move it along.  The faster this bill moves through the Senate, the harder it will be to get attached.

Second, if we were successful in getting the amendment considered, we would need to secure 60 votes for its passage.  This is not an impossible task; but in a world in which many Senators don’t believe the MBL bill will come to a vote, they are sometimes reluctant to show their cards unless they have to.  While we have confidence that we have, if not sixty, close to sixty votes, no one really knows.  Perhaps this is why the Independent Community Bankers of America and the American Bankers Association have recently stepped up their effort to block the MBL bill.  (The ABA ran expensive radio ads on the very popular Washington radio station WTOP).

We have very little ability to affect the first challenge – slowing down the bill.  However, there is a group of Democratic Senators trying to do just that.

The second challenge is completely within our hands.  We can get sixty votes (and more) on this legislation.  We’ve laid the ground work to get there.  Everyone in Washington is talking about Mark Udall and his “quixotic” bid to – gasp – allow credit unions to help small businesses.  But to get there, we need to turn up the pressure.  Many don’t believe there is going to be a vote, but we continue to push.

If your Senator is not with us, it’s time to ask them why not?  If they tell you they aren’t with us because it’s not going to come up for a vote, make sure they don’t have any policy concerns.  When they tell you they have no policy concerns (or after you’ve addressed their concerns), let them know small business owners and credit union members throughout their state expect their vote.

The Udall bill would help create 140,000 new jobs in the first year by allowing credit unions to lend an additional $13 billion to small businesses at no cost to taxpayers… and the only folks blocking this bill are the banks that bailed on small business during the crisis, had to be bailed out by taxpayers, were begged to lend to small businesses, and refused that call.  We can get this done.

The day of reckoning is approaching.  With your help next week, we’ll bring that day closer.

Open for business?

Member Business Lending (MBL) is a topic that continues to generate a lot of buzz. Considering our current economic state, why are MBLs getting so much attention? Because they are one of the fastest-growing segments of credit union loan portfolios,  with an average loan growth rate of 4%*. Some credit unions are reporting even higher rates. CUNA’s News Now recently reported that in 2011, Michigan credit unions increased their MBLs  by 21.7%!

Other statistics to note:

• The number of credit unions offering MBLs: 2,233
• Average size of  credit union MBLs: $219,120

“While we know that MBLs may not be for every credit union, CUNA’s goal is to provide the most comprehensive information possible to help credit unions make an educated decision on whether to offer these services,” says Doug Benzine, Vice President of CUNA’s Advisory Services. To that end, we present a number of resources for credit unions currently offering or considering adding MBLs to their portfolio including (but not limited to):

1. Member Business Lending Resources;

2. CUNA’s Business Lending Institutes: Fundamentals, Credit Analysis and Advanced Credit Analysis; and

3. Consulting services.

Currently the cap on MBLs is 12.25% of a credit union’s total assets. As the national trade association, CUNA is advocating Congress to enact legislation which would  increase the  cap to 27.5% for well-capitalized credit unions.

Participate NOW in our Call to Action to increase the MBL cap, by contacting your  state representatives and urging them to include Small Business Lending Enhancement Act in the small business jobs bill.

*Source: FDIC, NCUA and CUNA E&S

CUNA’s Community Credit Union & Growth Conference is in full swing! You can follow along on Twitter using the hasthtag #CUGrowth or by following our CUNAverse Twitter feed.

The event, which is held in San Francisco this year, focuses on transforming innovative thought into solid action plans for credit union growth. Sessions run the gamut from gaining the loyalty of the Hispanic community and a discussion about the upcoming Bank Transfer Day to strategic board recruitment and an interactive youth financial literacy workshop using Mad City Money.

Credit Union Magazine posted an interesting article today highlighting activities and photos from yesterday’s sessions like the one below featuring our very own Meghann Dawson in action. Be sure to check out the full article on Credit Union Magazine’s website.

Behind desk from left: Marianne McCrary and Meghann Dawson welcome attendees to CUNA’s Community CU & Growth Conference in San Francisco Monday. The conference features a legislative and regulatory update, a Mad City Money simulation with local high schoolers, and workshops on developing a sales culture and building a younger cooperative. A new session on the agenda is a Wednesday roundtable on Bank Transfer Day, notes Dawson, CUNA’s manager of instructional design.

Scholarship deadline for Community Credit Union Conference extended

The deadline to apply for a 2011 Community Credit Union & Growth Conference scholarship has been extended to September 9, 2011.  Up to 30 scholarships to the event will be co-sponsored by Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and CO-OP Financial Services.

To be held October 24-27, in San Francisco, the conference will focus on how to turn growth-generating ideas into action plans.  To access the conference website, including the simplified scholarship form and scholarship criteria, please visit training.cuna.org/ccuc.

To apply for a scholarship, please click here.

Applications are due Friday, September 9, 2011.  Recipients will be contacted by Thursday, September 15, 2011.

Social Media presence isn’t easy and building momentum for its use at a national conference can be a challenge, however it planked our expectation this year at CUNA’s ACUC (America’s Credit Union Conference). And one of the entertaining highlights? Random pictures of attendees laying face-down in peculiar locations, in San Antonio and across the US.

Twitter is a natural tool for a conference. It allows attendees to post great take-aways from sessions, network with peers, share bright ideas, suggest city hotspots, plus much more. We used the hashtag of #ACUC11 so attendees of the conference could search tweets to find what others were saying about the event.

Over the course of the 4-day conference (6/19-6/22), according to Topsy.com’s Analytics, there were 679 mentions of #ACUC11  (!!). Thanks to the influx of tweets, retweets, and @mentions CUNAverse managed to gain many new followers, and we can now stay connected to our new friends (in 140 characters or less).

Planking goes Big Time

I won’t go into the history of planking (you can find it here on Wikipedia)  but it took this years’ ACUC by storm! From State League presidents (see NC’s John Radebaugh planking on a riverboat) to speakers, and attendees.  Even CUNA Mutual and those holding down the CUNA fort in Madison  got in on the action(See a collection of CU planking pics here).

It was a great way to build a community of attendees outside the conference sessions also by tying in some tourist sights San Antonio has to offer. Has anyone ever planked the Alamo? If not, @PJLiving  is the first!

Twitter seemed to bring a new life to America’s Credit Union Conference. As a staff member that stayed in Madison as things were in full-swing, I felt like I was right alongside of attendees. Reading highlights from breakout sessions and quotes from our Keynote Speakers, it was a nice breath of fresh air to check in the #ACUC11 search to see what would pop-up next. It was a great tool of inclusion in an age where we may not all get to travel for training. Though the information is fleeting (twitter keeps a tweet’s search functionaly for about a month), it’s a great way of connecting “in the moment”.

Are you using twitter at your credit union?  If so, share your best practices and ‘wow’ moments with a comment below.  Oh, and don’t forget to follow @CUNAverse

From Carla Day:

Carla Day

As a young credit union executive, there was much that I had to learn and thankfully there was a program to help me – CUNA Management School (CMS). The other day I saw on Facebook, that CUNA was offering a scholarship for a first year student to attend this amazing program. Are you a credit union employee? Do you want to grow within your credit union career? If yes, you should apply for this program and scholarship!

I graduated from CMS a few years ago and I can point to that experience as being a career charging opportunity. I first heard about the program from a co-worker who became a senior manager around the same time I did. I got more information about  CMS and immediately knew I had to attend. The CMS program is a well-rounded three-year credit union management school that propelled my career.

For two weeks each summer, the program runs at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Attendees live in dorms, eat cafeteria food, and bond with their fellow students. Dorm life is much better than you would expect (especially since they now have semi-private bathrooms!). The learning doesn’t happen just in a classroom either. Each year, students participate in a team-building activity that they will never be forget.

The learning doesn’t end after the two-weeks each summer, because students use what they learn in Madison and complete an interim project. The first project involves looking back at their credit union’s history from the beginning and specifically the previous five years. The second project is all about planning for the future with a five year strategic plan. After completing each project, you will know more about your credit union than probably anyone else there.

Over the years, the program has grown to include the annual projects, then testing, which brought accreditation (you can earn college credit), and most recently a designation. Graduates of CUNA Management School now earn the CCUE (Certified Credit Union Executive) designation. This honor shows that you have graduated from this comprehensive program, understand credit unions and leadership.

Are you ready to sign up? The deadline for applying for the scholarship is Friday, May 27th, but don’t let that quick timeline stop you from changing your career forever. It is a short application and if you can’t get it in by Friday, CUNA has said they will accept them into early next week. Please contact them to let them know you will be applying.

For more information about the program: CUNA Management School – Madison, FAQ, Why should you attend?

If you have questions about the program, please let me know. I’d be happy to discuss it with you, refer you to other graduates, or the CUNA program director, Meghann Dawson.

Carla Day is the Founder of CU Chat Up.  This post was originally published on the CU Chat Up blog.

Over the last 6 weeks CUNAverse Big Time Thursday’s have highlighted many of the things that make this year’s America’s Credit Union Conference & Expo (ACUC) the Big Time.

For the few of you still not signed up to join us in San Antonio here are the top 10 reasons why you can’t wait a minute longer to register:

10. Keynote speakers who are guaranteed to inspire you to take action to take your credit union in to the big time.

9. People are so excited about ACUC they started singing about it back in March at CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference.

8. ACUC has a jam packed schedule  that will leave you saying “Being so busy never felt so good”.

7. CUNA and CUNA Mutual are collaborating this year to bring you the Discovery breakout sessions, the most innovative and relevant educational sessions in the movement.

6. It’s a great time to visit San Antonio since 2011 marks the 175th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo.

5. ACUC is the place to hear the most recent updates on the legislative and regulatory challenges facing the credit union industry.

4. San Antonio’s River Walk is perfect for nightlife, networking and entertainment.

3. Exhibitors who are committed to the credit union industry and helping us grow.

2. If you win this Big Time Thursday contest you get two registrations for the price of one to this year’s ACUC.

And the number 1 reason you can’t miss this year’s America’s Credit Union Conference & Expo . . .

drum roll please . . .

Comment here for a chance to win an iPad!

1. You’re going to want to capture all of the Big Time ideas on your very own new iPad!

That’s right, one lucky commenter is going to win a buy one/get one registration to this year’s conference and their very own iPad which they’ll receive when they arrive at ACUC. The CUNAverse team wanted to wrap Big Time Thursdays up with a bang, we’re excited to give you the chance to win.  Looking forward to seeing all of you in San Antonio!

FINAL BIG TIME THURSDAY CONTEST: We want to know: What is the #1 thing you are looking forward to seeing at this year’s America’s Credit Union Conference & Expo? Whether it’s a particular speaker, session or event – we want to know what’s bringing you to San Antonio.  Answer this question in a comment below and we’ll do a random drawing on May 19th of all commenters and give away a Buy 1, Get 1 free conference registration to ACUC and your very own iPad!

UPDATE (05/19): This contest has ended – congratulations to our winner, Sarah Brenner from the University of Illinois Employees Credit Union. She won a  buy 1, get 1 free ACUC conference registration plus an Apple iPad. THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!

CONTEST NOTES: Contest begins today and ends on Wed., May 18th at 11:59PM (ct). Winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Make sure you leave an email address where you can be contacted.  The winner will be notified via e-mail and will also be announced on the blog.  The odds of winning depend on the number of entrants received.  No purchase necessary to win. Void where prohibited.

This competition is offered by Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and is open to anyone who comments on this post and is at least 18 years of age. Employees of CUNA and family members of such employees are not eligible to enter.

CUNA shall not have any liability for any malfunction of or damage to the prize. The award winner may be responsible for applicable state or federal taxes on the value of the contest prize.

iPad® is a registered trademark of Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple is not a participant in or sponsor of this promotion.

From Christy LaMasney

Why is CUNA Mutual Group bringing our face-to-face Discovery sessions to the Credit Union National Association’s America’s Credit Union Conference and Expo in 2011?  Well, by collaborating, we are leveraging our collective strengths to create a truly diversified and educational experience.

The Discovery breakouts will cover a wide range of topics including marketing and membership, risk management strategies, lending and compliance, virtual banking, employee and employer issues and issues facing boards of directors.  There truly is something for everyone.

Over the four day conference key insights will come from a combination of industry thought leaders, outside consultants, CUNA Mutual staff and your credit union colleagues. Just a few highlights include:

Kelly McDonald

Social Media & Social Marketing: How to Use it to Grow presented by Kelly McDonald, McDonald Consulting.

Kelly is making a return appearance after a successful presentation at our Online Discovery Conference last November.  At ACUC she will focus on how social media tools fit in your marketing strategy.  Many credit unions are using social media, but how do you know it’s effective and relevant?  Kelly will cover social media marketing from A-Z.

Ann Davidson

Top Fraud Trends in 2011 – Is Your CU Prepared to Prevent Today’s Top Fraud Threats? presented by Ann Davidson, CUNA Mutual Group.

How much is fraud costing your credit union? The bad news is fraud is not going away. Are you prepared to defend against these top fraud threats, including cards, ACH, wires, mobile payments and more? During this session Ann will share the industry top fraud threats, criminal behavior, how to identify the weakest links and key defenses to prevent fraud. Keep criminals out of your credit union and away from your members!

Panel discussion

A View to the Future of Credit Unions with Gen Y presented by a Credit Union Panel: Ronaldo Hardy, LaCapitol FCU; Matt Vance, Industrial CU; Amy Stanton, Connex CU and Jen Shefner, Columbia CU.

How many of your employees are from Gen Y?  With numbers estimated as high as 70 million, if you haven’t hired them yet, you will soon!  How can you attract young professionals and shape them into future leaders of the credit union system? These four young credit union leaders will share how they are influencing their credit unions, and what they believe is needed to make credit unions more relevant to their generation.

George Hoffheimer

Under the Sheets: What’s Hidden in Your Financial Statements? presented by George Hofheimer, Filene Research Institute and Mike Higgins, Jr., Mike Higgins and Associates

Too often, strategic plans are put together with a pre-determined financial objective in place. Unfortunately, the tactics to reach an arbitrary ROA target can have unintended consequences. A strategic plan needs to be more thoughtful than that. It’s important that you study your credit union’s balance sheet mix and non-interest income production to understand how powerful, and sustainable its Net Revenue Engine is and where opportunities for improvement exist. Credit unions need a sound set of asset quality guidelines to make sure credit losses don’t deplete excessive amounts of capital. During this session, based on a forthcoming Filene Research study, George and Mike will walk you through the process and discuss the benefits for your particular situation.

Discovery CONTEST: We want to know: What are the credit union issues and opportunities keeping you up at night? What topics are you looking for more insight? Answer this question in a comment below and we’ll do a random drawing on May 12th of all commenters and give away 50% off the ACUC conference registration plus a copy of  Discovery speaker Kelly McDonald’s best selling book How to Market to People Not Like You, currently featured on Inc. Magazine’s Business Book Bestseller List.

UPDATE (05/12): This contest has ended – congratulations to our winner, David from The Golden 1 Credit Union. He won a  50% off the ACUC conference registration plus a copy of  Discovery speaker Kelly McDonald’s best selling book How to Market to People Not Like You, currently featured on Inc. Magazine’s Business Book Bestseller List. THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!

Christy LaMasney is the Communications Strategist, Discovery for CUNA Mutual Group.

CONTEST DETAILS: Contest begins today and ends on Wed., May 11th at 11:59PM (CT). No purchase necessary to win.  Make sure you leave an email address where you can be contacted.  The winner will be notified via e-mail and will also be announced on the blog.  Multiple comments are allowed as long as you have a valid idea in each comment. (No duplicate comments) The odds of winning depend on the number of entrants received.  Void where prohibited.

This competition is offered by Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and is open to anyone who comments on this post and is at least 18 years of age. Employees of CUNA and family members of such employees are not eligible to enter.

CUNA shall not have any liability for any malfunction of or damage to the prize. The award winner may be responsible for applicable state or federal taxes on the value of the contest prize.

Follow CUDiscovery on Twitter

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.  - Raymond Chandler

Motivation

In today’s rapidly evolving business world, motivation has become one of the most important and valuable traits. It’s no longer enough to just do a job, one needs to be willing to adapt to change and be innovative as it happens. But is motivation actually being encouraged by employers?

Most of us believe that the best way to motivate ourselves and others is with external rewards — the carrot-and-stick approach. According to Dan Pink in his book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, that’s a mistake.

Dan Pink, one of CUNA’s America’s Credit Union Conference keynote speakers, has served as chief speech writer for vice president Al Gore before going on to a career writing and speaking about management, business, technology and the concept of Motivation 2.0.

What is Motivation 2.0? It is encouraging the behaviors most needed today. Foremost amongst these behaviors is intrinsic motivation. When employees work out of a love for their job, they produce higher quality work and are more likely to produce innovation. These individuals also show higher work morale and greater job satisfaction. 

It’s important for companies to have a higher sense of purpose. While profits are understandably important, there should be a greater mission behind its work. Excellence often comes when companies adopt an ethos of providing better service, better products and better performance to their customers and clients. In doing so, their employees often adopt the ethos as their own and match their own interests with those of their employer. 

This is an area where credit unions excel.  As Courtney explains in her blog post, A culture of Fear or a Culture of Love, “I am willing to bet that organizations with strong cultures tend to lead out of love. Think about your own organization. Are you surrounded by people who act out of love, love for the members they serve and love for the credit union movement? People who act out of love are passionate about the work they do and the difference they make in the lives of others.” 

Much of this drive and motivation comes not from rewards being offered as a means of motivation, but from the support of a movement and a true belief in what credit unions stand for and what they can do to really help their members.

The old-fashioned methods of producing motivation, rewards and punishments, aren’t necessarily as relevant to the modern workplace. While rewards can often serve as a useful goal, they have a tendency to discourage intrinsic motivation. By creating an “incentive” to reach a particular level of performance, one can inadvertently discourage employees from exceeding it or even creating incentives for them to cheat. Punishments can also produce unexpected problems. A strict system of punishments often has the effect of discouraging innovation, demotivating workers and promoting short term strategic thinking.

 For more insight into how to motivate your credit union to drive the movement forward, register now for CUNA’s America’s Credit Union Conference, June 19-22 in San Antonio, TX and the Executive Series.  In the meantime, you can gather some motivation from Dan Pink through his blog.

Gavin Mylrea is a Marketing Communications Specialist for the Credit Union National Association.

BIG TIME Thursday CONTEST: We want to know: What techniques is your credit union using to motivate employees? How have you seen these efforts have a positive effect on your credit union? Answer these questions in a comment below and we’ll do a random drawing on May 5^th of all commenters to give away a free registration to the CUNA ACUC Executive Series (note, you must first register for the conference) and full book library from the speakers (including Dan Pink’s book, Drive)!

CONTEST DETAILS: Contest begins today and ends on Thurs., May 5th at 11:59 AM (CT). No purchase necessary to win.  Make sure you leave an email address where you can be contacted.  The winner will be notified via e-mail and will also be announced on the blog.  Multiple comments are allowed as long as you have a valid idea in each comment. (No duplicate comments) The odds of winning depend on the number of entrants received.  Void where prohibited.

This competition is offered by Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and is open to anyone who comments on this post and is at least 18 years of age. Employees of CUNA and family members of such employees are not eligible to enter.

CUNA shall not have any liability for any malfunction of or damage to the prize. The award winner may be responsible for applicable state or federal taxes on the value of the contest prize.